Ready to oblige and serve

CAROLINE DIPPING

A reader who shall be nameless (particularly since I lost her letter somewhere on the pigsty I call my desk), is a fiend for the lentil soup at Athens Market Cafe in Carmel Mountain (athensmarketcafe.com). Owner Nick Anastasopoulos was happy to oblige with the recipe and wanted to let folks know the cafe stands at the ready to cater holiday parties.

Lentil Soup

6 to 8 servings

2/3 cup green lentils, rinsed twice

6 cups cold water

1/4 cup olive oil

3 to 4 bay leaves

1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

6 cups tomato puree

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)

Place rinsed lentils in a large stock pot. Cover with cold water. Add olive oil, bay leaves, onion and garlic. Stir gently. Bring to a rolling boil, then stir occasionally so lentils do not stick to bottom of pot. Allow to boil for about 1 hour.

Add red wine vinegar, tomato puree, pepper and salt to stock pot. Stir again until soup comes to a boil. Allow to boil for an additional half hour. Serve.